The Pokémon franchise has played a lot of roles in a lot of people’s lives, and now, one of the series’ signature creatures was just given an important job no one expected.

According to Japanese news site KSB, Slowpoke has become the symbol of lacquerware for the Japanese prefecture of Kagawa. The trend of making lacquerware Slowpokes was started by students from Takamatsu Technical High School, and aims to bring attention to the oft-forgotten art form. The work was even put on display at a Tokyo exhibition.

Japanese X user @motoyaKITO posted some pictures of the Slowpokes on X, and the results are adorable and impressive in equal measure. More than just a recent trend, however, Slowpoke has been a symbol of Kagawa prefecture for some time now.

How Pokémon’s Slowpoke Became an Ambassador for a Region of Japan

I went to see the lacquer-coated Slowpoke made by a high school student from Shikoku. It’s cute, isn’t it?

Slowpoke has been associated with Kagawa ever since 2015, and the association has a variety of reasons for cropping up. One of the main reasons is that Slowpoke’s Japanese name, Yadon, sounds similar to udon, a thick type of noodle often associated with the Kagawa region.

The Pokémon Company International made Slowpoke Kagawa’s official ambassador Pokémon in 2018 as part of a broader effort to promote Japanese prefectures. While Slowpoke might not be everyone’s favorite Gen 1 Pokémon, it is still iconic. Nintendo itself even released a Slowpoke theme song in 2016 to celebrate the easy-going Pokémon.

More than just a neat little way Pokémon is helping a small region, though, Slowpoke’s job proves just how big Pokémon is.

Slowpoke’s Job Proves The Universality of Pokémon

This isn’t the first time the Pokémon franchise has reached out and affected the real world. Pokémon have been spotted on the side of planes and Pokémon Go was a certified cultural phenomenon so big that it got a shoutout from a Hillary Clinton during 2016’s Presidential race.

Though, of course, Pokémon wasn’t part of everyone’s childhood, it is and was big enough that it crosses generational lines. There’s a good reason Pokémon is the most profitable IP in the world.

Given this, it’s no surprise that a Pokémon would get a job promoting a small Japanese prefecture. In a time when people and the world can be so divided, Pokémon is one of the few things that truly bring people from diverse backgrounds together.